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Topic: Bhagavan Ramana Teachings (Read 240678 times)

While mental articulation of Who am I? or Be Still is useful in the initial stages, effort must be made to give it up totally, as such articulation stand in the way of of concentration and stillness of the mind.

The Japa of Who am I? in the beginning, may appear ludicrous for those used to Siva, Siva, Rama, Rama, Krishna, Krishnaetc., but it must be understood that this Japa of Who am I? makes one involuntarily fix the mind on the Heart, which is theaim of sadhana. Besides, Sri Bhagavan Himself says, 'Who am I?" is the best of all Japas (Talks No. 72).

Different seers saw different aspects of truths at different times, each emphasising some one view. Why do you worry about their conflicting statements? The essential aim of the Veda is to teach us the nature of the imperishable Atman and show us that we are That.

It is something like Hanuman saying that all flowers in Asoka Vana were red in color. But Sita said they are all white.Rama later said that both are correct. Hanuman with anger towards Ravana saw the flowers as red as his eyes hadbecome red in anger. Sita being Mother did not see them with as anger but as they are. Both are correct.

Sri Aurobindo: All existences follow their nature and what shall coercing it avail? Even the man of knowledge acts according to his own nature.

Misc.: Even a man of knowledge acts according to his own nature, for everyone follows the nature he has acquired from the three modes. What can repression accomplish?A visitor quoted verse 33 of Ch. 3 in Bhagavad Gita and asked Bhagavan, “Are we then to do nothing and simply allow the senses to go their own way?”

Bhagavan: It only means actions will go on, according to the gunas or prakriti of the man. They cannot be prevented. But, that is the very reason why man should acquire jnana and thus become unaffected by the consequences of such action. The verse says, “Acquire jnana and be unattached to the actions and their consequences.”

Bhagavan said this after saying, “Let us see in what connection this verse occurs,” and looking up the verse in question. Then I remembered that once before I asked Bhagavan about this very same verse, and then Bhagavan pointed out to me the very next verse in which we are directed not to yield to the senses. I mentioned this for the guidance of the visitor. Bhagavan had told me then that, if the two verses were taken together, it could not be contended that Gita teaches ‘Don’t restrain or attempt to restrain the senses, because what does restraint avail?’

That state which transcends speech and thought is mauna; it is meditation without mental activity. Subjugation of the mind is meditation; deep meditation is eternal speech. Silence is ever-speaking; it is the perennial flow of ‘language’. It is interrupted by speaking; for words obstruct this mute ‘language’. Lectures may entertain individuals for hours without improving them. Silence, on the other hand, is permanent and benefits the whole of humanity. By silence, eloquence is meant. Oral lectures are not so eloquent as silence. Silence is unceasing eloquence. It is the best language.

A devotee went to Ramana and said, "I've been with you for 25 years, doing Who am I, and nothing has happened yet, so Ramana said, "Try it another 25 and see what happens." Forget about time. Forget about when something is going to happen. Even if nothing happens in this life, you are ahead of the game, for if you've been sincere, and if you've really been working on yourself, you will come back to an environment that is conducive for your realization, and at that time you may have realization when you're about 12 or 13 years old, because you’ve earned it. But if you're like most people and go around minding everybody’s business and saying, "I have no time to do this. I've tried it for two hours and it doesn't work," then you keep coming back again, and again, and again, going through all kinds of experiences, until one day, maybe 10,000 years from now you may actually get it and start working on yourself diligently; what you should be doing now.

What do you do with yourself all day long? Think. From the moment you get out of bed, how does your day go? Do you think of God at all? Do you practice or do you think about your affairs and your body? Be honest with yourself. If you're not making any headway in spiritual life, it's because you're not putting anything into it. You have to realize that whatever you see in the world is only a reflection of yourself. If people are mean to you, if they abuse you, it is because you're seeing yourself as those people. In other words, you've got those qualities.

Bhakti is not different from mukti. Bhakti is being as the Self. One is always That. He realizes It by the means he adopts. What is bhakti? To think of God. That means only one thought prevails to the exclusion of all other thoughts. That thought is of God, which is the Self, or it is the self surrendered unto God. When He has taken you up, nothing else will assail you. The absence of thought is bhakti. It is also mukti.Bhakti is Jnana Mata, i.e., the mother of jnana.

To a devotee who was praying that she should have more frequent visions of Siva, Bhagavan said, “Surrender to Him and abide by His Will, whether He appears or disappears; await His pleasure. If you ask Him to do as you like it is not surrender but command to God. You cannot have Him obey you and yet think you have surrendered. He knows what is best and when and how to do it. His is the burden. You have no longer any cares. All your cares are His. Such is surrender. That is bhakti.”

There are two ways of achieving surrender. One is looking into the source of the 'I' and merging into that source. The other is feeling 'I am helpless myself, God alone is all powerful, and except by throwing myself completely on Him, there is no other means of safety for me', and thus gradually developing the conviction that God alone exists and the ego does not count. Both methods lead to the same goal. Complete surrender is another name for jnana or liberation.

Sri Bhagavan has quoted this verse, as to how, the devotee's ego gets smaller and smaller and becomes atomic and thenfinally disappears and he comes to realize that there is only He and not he (the saint poet)

M: The eternal, unbroken, natural state of abiding in the Self is jnana. To abide in the Self you must love the Self. Since God is verily the Self, love of the Self is love of God; and that is bhakti. Jnana and bhakti are thus one and the same.

If you strengthen the mind, that peace will continue for all time. Its duration is proportional to the strength of mind acquired by repeated practice. And such a mind is able to hold on to the current. In that case, engagement or no engagement in work, the current remains unaffected and uninterrupted. It is not the work that hinders but the idea that it is you who are doing it.